Wet dust collector and air washer



Oct. 14, 1941.

v E. F. FISHER WET DUST COLLECTOR AND AIR WASHER Filed Jan. 30, 1939 .D/ETYl/B IIVLET Patented act. 14, 194i azsacsi Application January 30, 193 9, Serial No. 253,551

2 Claims.

My invention rel-ates to improvements in wet dust collectors and air washers, wherein the cleaning of the air is accomplished by subjecting a it to the continuous scrubbing action of water or other liquid which is set in violent agitation by the swirling spiralling air and caused to wet and wash large surface areas upon which particles of dust are caused to impinge out of the air current.

This invention consists in the novel features of construction more fully set forth in the speci fications and pointed out in the claims.

The principal object of my invention is to provide means whereby a more thorough wetting of the impingment surfaces is attained than those shown in my co-pending applications, Serial No. 251,751 filed Jan. 19, 1939, Serial No. 250,101, filed Jan. 10, 1939 and Serial No. 222,906 filed Aug. 3,

' 1938, and at the-same time to provide a system of guide and impingement vanes or surfaces of a unitary structure that is independent of coordinating baflies and vanes and that can be withdrawn as a unit from the enclosing housing without hindrance from the cooperating bailles, vanes and other structural elements of the housing'.

A further object of my invention is to provide a system of guide vanes, impingement surfaces, bailies and walls that impose the least resistance to the flow of dust laden air as it swirls spirally in .a continuous path without change of direction, and to provide a structure that will facilitate fabrication and assembly and. thus lowering the 4 cost of this equipment to the purchaser.

Other advantages of this invention will be better apparent from a detailed description in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which Figure 1 is a vertical cross section taken on line li of Figure 2. Figure 2 is a horizontal section view taken on line 2-2 of Figure 1. Figure 3 is a vertical cross section of the axial tube T with its bailies and vanes. This is the assembly T shown in place in Figure 1 in cooperative relation with the bailles and vanes of housing 2.

The apparatus consists of a cylindrical shell or casing 2, provided at the top with a tangential inlet 15 which admits air or gases from which particles are to be removed. The casing is provided with a conical bottom 3 into which the particles, in the form of sludge, settle prior to their removal through the outlet 2!. An outlet M for cleaned air or gases is provided in the casing.

A sludge cone, or collector, I is provided within thecasing and separates it into upper and lower compartments. The outlet in the bottom of this collector discharges into the vertical tube T. The outer surface of this tube is supplied with a number of horizontal, downwardly sloping, circular baflles or plates, shown at 5*, 5'', 5 and 5.

Around the periphery of each of these plates are arranged a number of swirl-producing means I8, I8 [8 and I8. These consist of vertical vans curved about the horizontal axis as shown in Figure 2. It is to be understood that the vanes in alternate sets will be so arranged as to produce rotational movement of the gases in opposite horizontal directions. Thus, if the vanes I8 and l8 induce rotation in a clockwise direction, then the vanes l8 and l8 will induce rotation in a counterclockwise direction, and vice versa.

- The unsupportedends of the vanes are rein- I forced by circular blade rings 20, 20, 20' and 20?,

the uppermost blade ring 20 being wider than the others for reasons to'be shown below.

Within the lower compartment of the casing 2 are disposed a number of horizontal sloping baflles 6, 6, 6 and 6, arranged in staggered relationship to the plates 5, 525 and 5*, but in cooperative alignment with blade rings 20, 20, 20 and 20.

Figure '3 shows a unitary assembly composed of the vertical tube, bafllle plates and swirlproducing vanes. This unit may be attached to the collector I by means of welding or otherwise and it is additionally supported within the casing by means of the blade ring 20 which overlaps the uppermost battle 6, and is fastened by bolts It. For purposes of cleaning or repair the entire unit; may be removed after removing bolts k.

A liquid supply system I 6 is attached to the top IQ of the casing, and another inlet for washmg liquid, which may or may not be independent of the first, is provided at It. This inlet leads to the annular liquid chamber ill, from which liquid drains through outlets Ill over the outer surface of the tube T and into the space between the tube T and outer shell 2.

Dust or fume laden air or both together enter the unit covered by plate l9, through tangential tween baiile 6 and tube baflle 20 is carried'through the vanes I 8 and copiously wets them and the adjacent wall of tube T. Some of the fine dust impinges on these wetted surfaces and is washed down. The air continues to swirl spirally in space A and throws the water that falls oil of tube baiiie to the adjacent wall 2 thus washing down dust that impinges thereon. The air is then deflected through the curved vanes l8 into space B, thence spirally upward through each successive row of vanes la and 18, meeting at each juncture the water that falls from annular water chamber In through water pipes I0 connected therewith. This annular water chamber [0 is supplied by water pipe I6 which extends through wall of chamber 2.

Ifhus it is seen that .there are two water supplies. One supply through pipes l6 washes down the heavy dust particles into primary sludge cone I and then into secondary sludge chamber IS. The other supply through pipe l6 supplies clean fresh water for final cleaning of the air that passes up through the bladed sections. This makes it possible to recirculate the dirty water that can be separated from the sludge that fiows through sludge outlet 2| from sludge chamber IS, without contaminating the clean air that flows out of the clean air outlet l4 and which has been washed by a separate supply of clean fresh water from pipe I6 Thus it is possible to use two separate washing liquids.

Having described my invention and its operatiOXL'I claim:

1. A gas-cleaning apparatus comprising a shell provided with a tangential inlet near the top, a collector which creates an upper and lower compartment within the shell, an outlet for cleaned gases in the lower compartment, 9. vertical tube open at both ends depending from the lower end of said collector, superposed ring-shaped battles attached to the inner wall of said shell below said outlet and extending away from said wall superposed ring-shaped bafiles of less diameter than the inner periphery of said first-mentioned bames attached to and surrounding the outer surface of said tube, in staggered relationship to said first mentioned battles, means below said collector for supplying liquid to the space above said baflles, swirl-producing vanes circularly supported about the a periphery of said lastmentioned battles, each row of vanes extending vertically to a position adjacent and in spaced relationship to said first-mentioned bafiies, so that portions of said liquid within the lower compartment may flow downwardly and between said bailies and swirl-producing means.

2. Apparatus as in claim 1 in which another independent means for supplying liquid is provided at the top of said shell.

ERNEST F. FISHER. 

